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I'm Sam and I'm sixteen years old. My birthday is the 30th of November which means most of my friends are almost 18, while I'm still waiting to turn 17. I like to read, write, and play video games. My current favourite game is Red Dead Redemption 2! When I'm not home I love to visit theme parks, hang out with my friends or go for a walk to clear my head. Music is also a big part of my life, currently, I play the drums and a little electric guitar. My music taste is all over the place, but it's mostly show tunes, glam rock and occasionally classical music when I'm studying or reading. I'm quite ambitious and I wish to experience as many things as I possibly can in life. It's my dream to do lots of road trips with my Volkswagen hippie van when I'm older so I can go to places I never thought I'd be able to visit. I choose and love English for multiple reasons, but you have to read for yourself to find out!

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My current favorite read! The song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

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My current favorite read! The song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

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This book got me out of my reading slump last year. Back then it would've taken me at least one month to finish a book. I discovered that not every novel is suitable for everyone but the key is to find your favourite genre. That way, reading no longer feels like a chore but more like a relaxing choice after a long day, a way to escape reality.

In the past, I put a lot of pressure on myself to read every day which took the joy away again and making it a chore. Now I read whenever I am in the mood and I enjoy it a lot more! There can be days I read nonstop, but also times when I give myself a break from reading.

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Understanding the great works of the pioneers in English literature ✒

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Understanding the great works of the pioneers in English literature ✒

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I've always loved reading but this past year I've fallen in love with classical literature, something that scared me before. The works of Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, and Robert Louis Stevenson felt like a big challenge. It's my personal goal to understand these classics because they embody everything I love about English. I started with Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde because I knew I'd love these thrillers. Now I'm slowly working my way up to more challenging books such as All Quiet on the Western Front which was my favourite read so far. Even though the original novel was written in German, I chose to read the English translation, which doesn't make it English literature but still qualifies under Classic Literature. The next author on my list is Oscar Wilde, I see his quotes everywhere and other readers have praised his works for years. From his quotes, I already love him as a person so I can't wait what his works have in store for me.

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Do you mostly read English or Dutch books?

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Ever since I learned how to write, I was fascinated that people could sit in front of their computers or notebooks and create an entirely different world with just their imagination. I remember writing simple stories when I was a child but during freshman year one English assignment made me realize that I had an intense drive to publish a novel one day. I remember that assignment so well, because of the way I felt and how insane it was to me that the sentences I made up in my mind were well-received by others. Over the last three years, I've tried many times to complete a novel but I've made more characters and plot lines than I can count. If I work hard and stay focused I wish to publish my first work before the age of twenty.

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Hamilton: learning more about American and British history.

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Hamilton: learning more about American and British history.

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I hope to learn more about British and American history in class because it is mostly overlooked, especially American history. The first time I watched Hamilton I had no clue what most songs were actually about. American history was strange to me and the only person I could recognize was George Washington, but without much knowledge of him either. I decided to research the actual story behind the independence of America and Hamilton's involvement in it. I fell in love with this unknown part of history and the figure of Alexander Hamilton to the point that I even read the Federalist papers and other legal documents that made America the nation it is today.

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Hamilton - Aaron Burr, Sir / My Shot (Original Cast 2016 - Live)

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"Why read old books, when their knowledge is so far behind on today's world?"

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"Why read old books, when their knowledge is so far behind on today's world?"

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Something I am looking forward to this year is reading Hamlet and applying Shakespeare's writing to my work because even tho he lived in a completely different time, I am a firm believer that classic literature is the blueprint for writing an engaging novel today. I'd love to learn more about analysing the works of these pioneers and get more challenging assignments so I can learn how to not only understand the classic English language but also apply it in my work. I'd love to analyse sentences and think about the person behind the novel and how their stories reflect themselves and their thoughts.

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During our extra hour of English or maybe even more fitting, English conversation, I would love to explore the different English accents. I love theme parks and my dream destination is Alton Towers in the UK because of coasters like Oblivion, which you can see in the above picture. I enjoy the sound of Scottish and Welsh accents but also the typical British ones such as the London or Liverpool accents.

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I'm hoping to study abroad in my final year of university. England seems like the perfect destination for me and it fits my major. I've decided to study criminology and London has a very rich history of crime. Jack the Ripper is of course the first person that comes to mind, but they also have some interesting museums. One museum, in particular, is the only museum in the world where you watch a video of an amputation done in the Victorian age. This dream of being an exchange student is one of the main reasons why I would choose English over any other language, not only to study but also to fit into the British way of life and thinking.

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Jekyll and Hyde: comparing works to their theatre productions.

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Jekyll and Hyde: comparing works to their theatre productions.

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I read this classic during summer and at the same time discovered the musical adaption of this gothic novel. This gave me the idea to compare plays to their novels during English class. We often read Shakespeare's sonnets but never actually compare them to how they translate on stage. I feel like Jekyll and Hyde would be a good fit because it's a classical novel and is also very suitable for senior-year students. The short length and gothic genre can be a persuasive reason to deepen into English literature for those who are yet unfamiliar with it.

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Musicals are visual poetry. It helps me understand things I never thought I would be interested in.

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I would like to actively discuss English literature with my peers and start our very own book club. In freshman year we had one English class where we'd bring a book, presenting it to the rest of the students. It was such an active and vibrant class and I hope we can create that again, once every semester would be fun!

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My dream job is to work for INTERPOL. It stands for the International Criminal Police Organization, also regarded as the European FBI. They work with police organizations all around the world, and getting this job would mean everything to me. Because it's an international organization most communication will be done in English. So I think I made the right choice by studying languages. This also motivates me to not only do well in English but also French, German and Spanish since I know it will be a major asset in my career.

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I can't go a day without music. Every year I make a study playlist to keep me motivated throughout the year.

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I can't go a day without music. Every year I make a study playlist to keep me motivated throughout the year.

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One of my best friends Mara lives in Canada and every time we talk about me visiting her one day, she tells me that I have to try poutine when I'm there. To me, it looks like what we would call a 'friet special'. She lives in a French-speaking town in Canada but when we talk we speak English to each other. We've known each other for almost three years and having friends from different parts of the world helped me expand my English vocabulary!

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Other parks I am dying to visit are all the Disney parks. I've been to Disneyland Paris a couple of times now and I hope to visit Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland next. For both parks, English will be necessary. Especially in Toyko because that's the only language I'll be able to communicate in since I don't know one single word of Japanese or any Asian language.

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Last year I got the opportunity to be an extra for the British series Professor T. As I was instructed to sit in the auditorium, Barney White sat beside me with his script rolled up. He looked at me and smiled, "Hello, I'm Barney." I shook his hand and he noticed I had papers in front of me which contained some Dutch I had to learn for the upcoming day. Still amazed by him, I explained that I brought my papers for the day because I had this giant test tomorrow. "What language do you speak?" He asked me, confused about what language he was looking at. I told him I speak Dutch and this test was about the history of our language. He nods impressed and tells me "Good luck!" before joining Ben Miller. I looked back at where Miss Broux was sitting, she looked proudly at me with an excited look. I remember Sara en Erleta coming towards me after asking what I said and how I even managed to start a conversation with him. I loved that day so much that I realized I wanted to pursue this in the future if possible. Nothing grand such as a leading role, just being an extra and seeing the full works behind one singular scene was already perfect for me.

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Criminal Minds is one of my comfort shows, they use specific criminology and psychological terms when they discuss a case such as "Unsub" for an Unknow subject. This refers to their suspect. This show has already taught me so many terms and crime history.